Beginning again...

Monday was my first day as an employed BOARD CERTIFIED music therapist. It feels like I keep having "firsts" .... "first interview" "first day"... but I have to be honest, I am so excited to get going in this new position. I was offered the job to work for Midwest Palliative and Hospice CareCenter a few weeks ago and have eagerly awaited my February 13th start date.

My first day went fairly smoothly... I didn't trip, or spill anything on my shirt. I didn't lock myself in the bathroom - but who would do that? Honestly. HOWEVER! No day would be complete for me without the slight embarrassment or odd first impression. My new position is in a northern suburb of Chicago, further north than Seasons' office and I needed to show up at 8:30am on Monday morning. Being my neurotic self, I decided I better give myself extra time for travel just in case of traffic. This sounds like a reasonable idea, right? Well, I drug myself from my bed and snugly little puppy at the ungodly hour of 5:30am in order to be up and at 'em by 7am. Alright, I realize that a LOT of you out there likely get up that early... or perhaps even earlier. Kudos to you. You are awesome and I give you a lot of credit. But I've been unemployed a trophy wife for the past monthish and 5:30am was no longer in my vocabulary. Go on and judge me if you must.

Out on the road I saw the sunrise over the city (the Sears tower - I will always call it that - gleaming in the distance), I politely waved to other commuters who allowed my to change lanes, and listened to the ridiculousness of morning radio personalities jabbering about the Grammy awards. My GPS faithful led the way and as I pulled into the parking lot I stared in disbelief at the digital clock... 7:45am. 7:45?! I had successfully showed up for work 45minutes early. My new HR buddy had dealt with me being 15 minutes early for both interviews, but 45 minutes seemed a bit excessive. So, I did what any other normal human being would do. I parked my car and went back to sleep... or at least tried to sleep in the way that you can kind of sort of sleep in a chilly car after having showered, driven, and fully woken up for the morning. I set the alarm on my cell phone to alert me to enter the building at a more socially acceptable hour. After a while of reclining somewhat stiffly in a Prius with my sunglasses and scarf, I heard a tap on the window.

Sleeping in your car... clearly I was doing it wrong.

"Are you ok?" a rather distinguished and professional looking man asked me.

"Oh yeah!" I replied forcing a casual and probably stupid laugh. "I just am supposed to meet someone here at 8:30, but I got here at 7:45, and that was just too early, you know? So I thought I'd just wait and rest a while..." I quickly blurted out.

"Oh, ok" He said looking at me like I was some kind of crazy person... but really, this was totally normal right? "It's just that someone saw you and they were kind of concerned..." Yep, I look like a crazy person.

"Oh well... hee hee... no problem... ha...." I reassured him.

"Alright." He slowely backed away from the car.

"Have a great day!" I called after him. Yep. That's me. Annie Walljasper, your new co-worker. Board certified music therapist. Weirdo extraordinaire. I make a great first impression.

Throughout the rest of the day I kept praying that I would not run into him again ... the tour of the facility (chock full of introductions) was particularly nerve wracking. Luckily, the poor guy who had been elected to go save the crazy-chick-sleeping-in-her-car-in-the-parking-lot was no where to be found. Why does it feel like this kind of stuff only happens to me?

Yeesh.

ANYWAY... So far I absolutely love everything about my new position. My supervisor is fantastic, I've shadowed another MT who is a wonderful musician, a lot of fun to be around, and has the sweetest southern accent, I've shadowed a great chaplain, and met some patients who instantly reignited that spark inside me and reminded me how much I truly love working in hospice. I am confident that I am where I am supposed to be... even if I am a bit early.

Everyone thinks it's cute when children do it.
When you get old people just think you're a creep.

January is for Music Therapy

Since 2005, the American Music Therapy Association and the Certification Board for Music Therapists have collaborated on a State Recognition Operational Plan. The primary purpose of this plan is to get music therapy and our MT-BC credential recognized by individual states so that citizens can more easily access our services. The AMTA Government Relations staff and CBMT Regulatory Affairs staff provide guidance and technical support to state task forces throughout the country as they work towards state recognition. To date, their work has resulted in 35 active state task forces, 2 licensure bills passed in 2011, and an estimated 10 bills being filed in 2012 that seek to create either a music therapy registry or license for music therapy. This month, our focus is on YOU and on getting you excited about advocacy.

___________________________________________________

I am deeply honored to have been asked to be a part of the Music Therapy Advocacy month, maybe a little intimidated. To be honest, when talking about advocacy during my time as a MT equivalency student I was completely scared to even think of being someone out there in the world teaching and advocating for music therapy. Not that I don't love public speaking, because I do. And not because I don't love the music therapy profession, because believe me, I DO. But because there are millions of REALLY GREAT advocates out there... aside from the obvious Martin Luther King Jr's of the world, I have been privileged to see some absolutely amazing parents who need to advocate for their children. It is HARD work. It's a full time job. You have to be knowledgeable, confident, persistent...It's intimidating. I cannot help but think, "There must be someone else out there who could do a better job" or, "Someone else understands all that legal stuff better than I do." I have a feeling that many of you baby MTs out there might feel the same way. Or at least I hope I'm not alone. BUT! I also KNOW that I am not alone in thinking, "If not me, who?" Hmm...sounds familiar.

Two years ago if you asked me if I would be interested in working in hospice care, I would have replied with an adamant “No”, having spent the previous five years working with teenagers. One year ago when I sat down during my first day in the “Music Therapy with Adult Clients” course I thought, "I could never do that." But over the course of the semester I saw my view of hospice settings shift to a deep respect and new enthusiasm to advocate and provide for the clients found in hospice care. Six months after I have interned with Seasons Hospice and I find myself not with a hardened heart, tough enough to stand the emotional tolls of our work, but rather a better understanding of death and the dying process as well as an appreciation of what we are able to offer our clients. If I can't advocate and provide for this population, who will?

This January, music therapy bloggers and podcasters were asked to share their tips, thoughts, and ideas on advocacy and on being an advocate. I am going to do my very best. This might be more of a learning experience for me than for you. Who knows, maybe I'll learn that I LOVE advocacy, or maybe I'll inspire you to do better than I did.

For now, here are a few things to start of the week:

1. Head over the The Music Therapy Maven and take the “What’s Your Advocacy Personality?”quiz. It’s a fun, Cosmo-style quiz that will help you determine your most natural, comfortable advocacy style. Jump over here to check it out…and be sure to share your advocacy style in the comments section - be sure to tell them that Annie at PreludeMT sent you! I scored a “Not Afraid to take the lead…” and I agree completely. I just have more learning to go and would appreciate any direction/guidance.
   
2. Check out these other blogs/podcasts with posts from last week:

 
 

      3. Be sure to also follow the #mtadvocacy hashtag on Twitter to stay current with what’s  
          happening.
      4. Check back throughout this week and later this month for more words of wisdom from
          yours truly.

Happy Advocacy Month!